Monday, March 31, 2008

Broadening The Coalition

The only strategy capable of defeating the communists is the widest possible unity of all the class and social forces whose interests run counter to those of the most socialist section of the transnationals.

You know we might like to start with economics.

If the party was focused on

1. Economics
2. Defense
3. Individual liberty

and left the social issues to ministers, priests, and rabbis, we might broaden the base.

As I understand it Reagan gave minor lip service to social Conservatives and focused on the above issues. That is the Republican core. Huckabee was a huge distraction and more socialist than McCain.

Given that I can see why social conservatives have no problem sitting this one out. They like Socialism. Just a different brand than the Democrats. It is funny that Social Conservatives do not see themselves as Socialists.

The Federal Governments job is to protect our liberty, defend our country, and protect our property. Any thing else exceeds its mandate.

The less we want government to do the broader our coalition will be.

Prompted by the comments at Hot Air

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Buyers Remorse - Republican Version

Republicans are not happy with John McCain. Captain Ed has the news. The remorseful are mostly in the comments. Like this one:

McCain will never fail to disappoint Republicans and kiss the asses of his true political opponents.
Anti-McCain Republicans just drive me nuts. I can see you favoring socialized medicine, but isn’t losing the war a bit much?

And why you place so much emphasis on candidates is beyond me. What about the voters? It seems to me that until we get voters turned in our direction we will get the candidates we deserve.

Why don’t all the McCain scourgers blame themselves for not making Republican values more popular?

I blame myself for not doing a better job for Fred. What I heard from many was Mr. Too Old. Thanks. Now we have Mr. Too Old and Too Liberal. Way to go guys.

I’m reminded of what Mayor Daley Sr. responded when asked why his candidate lost. He responded, “He didn’t get enough votes.”

Get over yourselves. Blaming McCain for your inability to properly educate voters is stupid and puts the blame in the wrong place. Which is convenient. It means no self examination is required. How Democratic.

Maybe there is something wrong with the conservative message. Maybe the way it is presented. To blame McCain for our failings is idiotic. It will fix nothing.

There are always people willing to open the gates of the city because of some slight by the governing powers. The Bible (you have read it I presume) is full of examples.

I will never join those ranks. Even if it means voting for McCain.

OK I know. McCain will defend some parts of the city and not others. The Ds will give it all up.

I’m for preserving what we can. It will make recovery easier.

H/T Insty

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Buyers' Remorse 2008 Edition

It seems like the Democrats are having a bad case of buyers remorse.

If I ever reflect on how it is that I went from being a huge fan of Obama's, to a person who was excited about him and waiting to hear his plans, to wondering why I was not hearing anything tangible, to coming to terms with that fact he had no intention of clarifying anything, to coming to understand that he was a shallow pretender, to loathing everything his campaign represents - I will look no further than this email I received today from an Obamite:
let me guess with all respect,
-- you are below college education. thats for sure. right?
-- you have a working class background. thats also for sure. right?
-- you are not interested in politics. thats possible. right?
-- you prefer to eat cheese stakes at geno's. thats also possible. right?
-- your are just a bad bad-boy who likes to play mind games. maybe. right?
have a nice day
I loath these people. I will vote for McCain or no one if Obama gets the nomination.
That is a lot of excluded Americans. What rankles the most though is the elitist attitudes. Obama is not a candidate for the masses but, for the elite. If this is the attitude of Obama supporters, it has to come from somewhere. I wonder if Obama is too associated to University education, what with his Harvard Degree and his teaching job at the University of Chicago.

One thing we know for sure is that Obama has turned out a lot of college educated kids for his caucus wins. What ever it is, a lot of Democrats seem totally turned off to his candidacy. If he is having this kind of trouble with his own party, how does he expect to do well with Independents and Republicans?

Already he is having trouble with Jewish voters. Normally Jewish voters vote 75/25 in favor of Democrats. So far after the Wright flap he is down to 50/50. I don't think he has yet reached bottom. These things take time to percolate through a community and we have about seven more months to the election. So what does that mean? New Jersey, New York, and Florida - gone. Let us look at what that means in terms of the electoral college.

NJ - 15 votes
NY - 31 votes
FL - 27 votes
Sum- 73 votes

That is a heck of a deficit without even counting states that are reliably Republican. I have visited sites, where Democrats are discussing whether it is better for Hillary to lose or Obama. That is quite a turn around from the heady days just six months ago where Democrats were expecting to walk away with this election.

Ht Instapundit

Sunday, March 30, 2008

What The Heck Is Going On In Iraq?

I believe we must turn to a source we can trust. Al Jazeera. The headline is: Sadr orders his fighters to stand down.

What are the terms?

UPDATED ON: SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2008 19:27 MECCA TIME, 16:27 GMT - [it is currently 1805z]

Al-Sadr's nine-point plan, agreed with the Iraqi government, was issued by his headquarters in the city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shia mosques.

James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Baghdad, said: "The main elements are that Muqtada al-Sadr's fighters should leave the streets ... in return, apparently, they will not be pursued, the Iraqi government will not arrest any of them unless they have arrest warrants for them.

"The big question now is whether the Mahdi army fighters will obey this command because there are all sorts of factions and splinter groups in existence."

Basra operation

Despite the order Iraqi troops will continue military operations against "criminals" in Basra, al-Dabbagh later told the Reuters news agency.

"The operation in Basra will continue and will not stop until it achieves its goals. It is not targeting the Sadrists but criminals," he said.
It is not targeting the Sadrists but criminals

How can you tell the difference? I suppose the criminals are the guys with weapons.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Rove On Gore

Karl Rove has a word or two about the recent Al Gore bubble.

"You know you got a problem if the answer is Al Gore."
The comments are quite instructive as well. A lot of whistling past the graveyard.

H/T Irish Trojan in Tennessee via Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Interesting Fact

Kandahar in Afghanistan is named after Alexander the Great.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

JD Johannes Needs Your Help

JD Johannes is asking for help. He has produced a pro Victory in Iraq movie and needs to sell 2,900 CDs of his movie in six weeks to give Hollywood a wake up call.

People often complain about Hollywood's leftward tilt when it comes to Iraq, but few do anything pro-active about it.

I am trying to do something about it.

I have nearly died a few times trying to do something about it.

Hollywood and the entertainment industry is a business focused on the bottom line. If people want Hollywood to produce a pro-victory film, or a pro-troop television series, they will have to demonstrate that it is economically viable.

Most of the anti-war films have taken a beating at the box office.

Brian DePalma's 'Redacted' grossed $65,388, but cost $5million to make and 'Home of the Brave' only brought in $51,708 domestically.

To put that in perspective, I made my documentaries for under $60,000--that is the trip to Iraq and editing, audio studio, music, digital animations, etc., EVERYTHING.

To beat 'Redacted's' box office gross, takes the sale of 2,900 DVDs. Just 2,900 DVDs sold.

To demonstrate to Hollywood and the cable TV networks that a pro-victory documentary is viable, I need to sell 2,900 in 6 weeks.
You can buy the movie here.

This is one way to put your money to use for better reporting from Iraq and stick a finger in Hollywood's eye for their anti-American slant.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Karl Rove Has Lined Up the Entertainment

Gateway Pundit has a story up about many of the groups lined up to protest the Republican convention. He quotes from a linked source.

On Saturday, April 5th radical Trans and Queer people from the midwest and beyond will be gathering for a series of workshops about regarding the strategy for the RNC, queer/trans militant history, current radical trans/queer/anarcha-feminist resistance, self defense, diy sex toys, etc.

...Those attending the, “Bash Back! Convergence” organizing session for Crashing the RNC must agree to the Points of Unity put forward by Bash Back! Chicago. While we understand and respect all groups organizing against the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in the name of furthering the LGBTQ cause, it is important that our actions at the RNC have a unified message. These points of Unity do NOT mean that Bash Back! refuses to work with groups who disagree. They are simply what we as a group believe and we want the messaging of our actions to reflect that.
In other words they will have only one message, except if they have two or twenty. That will help the audience focus.

And what do you know. A blast from the past. The Students For A Democratic Society will be involved. You may be more familiar with their radical offshoot The Weathermen. You may also recall that a couple of Weathermen, Bernadine Dohrn and William Ayres, helped give Obama a political boost early in his political career. That reminder should give Obama's campaign a real leg up just when he needs it, going into the general election.

Gateway has also provided a list of the organizations who have endorsed the protest action at the Republican National Convention so far.
ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids, MI Students for a Democratic Society - SDS) ♦ Anarchist Black Cross Para-Legal Services (twitchon@hotmail.com) ♦ Animas SDS (Colorado) ♦ Anti-Authoritarians Anonymous (Milwaukee) ♦ Asheville Rising Tide ♦ Athens, OH SDS ♦ Attentat Collective ♦ Bash Back! ♦ Brainerd Anarchists (georgewchrist@hushmail.com) ♦ Chicago Anarchist Black Cross (PO Box 1544, Chicago, IL 60690) ♦ CrimethInc. Far East ♦ Delaware SDS ♦ End to Apathy ♦ Frederick Progressive Action Coalition ♦ HammerHard MediaWorks ♦ Industrial Workers of the World - NYC GMB Branch ♦ International Solidarity Movement - Chicago Chapter ♦ Iowa Organizing Against the RNC ♦ MKE to RNC ♦ Milwaukee Anarchist Black Cross ♦ Milwaukee Anti-Racist Action ♦ NC State SDS ♦ Northeast Anarchist Network ♦ Northwest Indiana Anarchist Black Cross (PO Box 1511, Portage, IN 46368) ♦ People's Networking Convention Organizing Committee ♦ Potomac Earth First! ♦ Queer Action Network ♦ Rising Tide North America ♦ RNC Welcoming Committee ♦ Rolling Thunder magazine ♦ Sabot Infosquat ♦ Shepherdstown Progressive Action Committee ♦ Tacoma SDS - UPS Chapte ♦ Talking Tree Infoshop ♦ Tuscarora High SDS ♦ UA Central NC ♦ UA in the Bay ♦ UCLA SDS ♦ Unconventional Denver
It really looks like some one is trying to engineer a return to 1968.

Rove you magnificent bastard.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Dean Speaks

Here is something interesting Howard Dean, head of the Democrat Party, had to say a while back.

"The real issue is this, Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life, or a guy who served his country honorably and has three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star on the battlefields of Vietnam?"
John McCain, was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

H/T Just One Minute

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Fitna Here




You can download a copy (.avi) at Northeast Intelligence Network.


Waiting for the Barbarians

What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?

The barbarians are to arrive today.

Why such inaction in the Senate?
Why do the Senators sit and pass no laws?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today.
What laws can the Senators pass any more?
When the barbarians come they will make the laws.

Why did our emperor wake up so early,
and sits at the greatest gate of the city,
on the throne, solemn, wearing the crown?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today.
And the emperor waits to receive
their chief. Indeed he has prepared
to give him a scroll. Therein he inscribed
many titles and names of honor.

Why have our two consuls and the praetors come out
today in their red, embroidered togas;
why do they wear amethyst-studded bracelets,
and rings with brilliant, glittering emeralds;
why are they carrying costly canes today,
wonderfully carved with silver and gold?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today,
and such things dazzle the barbarians.

Why don't the worthy orators come as always
to make their speeches, to have their say?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today;
and they get bored with eloquence and orations.

Why all of a sudden this unrest
and confusion. (How solemn the faces have become).
Why are the streets and squares clearing quickly,
and all return to their homes, so deep in thought?

Because night is here but the barbarians have not come.
And some people arrived from the borders,
and said that there are no longer any barbarians.

And now what shall become of us without any barbarians?
Those people were some kind of solution.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1904)

Friday, March 28, 2008

A Phenomenon

Obama = A Cult of Personality


Fitna The Video

The video is about Islam vs the West. If you want to have a look at it may I suggest Classical Values. Here is a bit of text I wrote to go with the video:

There are Muslims fighting against this brand of Islam. Muslims Against Sharia, where I have posting privileges, is one. I'm Jewish and that is well known to the group. I highly recommend a visit to their site. It is a fountain of wisdom and tolerance. I note that it has taken a while but, true moderate Muslims are rising up against the haters.

HT Hot Air. Hot Air has a lively comment section on the subject. Live Leak also has an active comment section on the video.

Now if only we could get some Americans to moderate their views similarly, we might have more progress in the "can't we all get along" project.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

A God For Us

Dr. James Hal Cone is one of the leading lights behind the Black Liberation Theology that Obama's Pastor Rev. Wright espouses. Here is some of what he believes:

* "Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him."

* "All white men are responsible for white oppression."

* "While it is true that blacks do hate whites, black hatred is not racism."

* "Theologically, Malcolm X was not far wrong when he called the white man "the devil.""

* "The black theologian must reject any conception of God which stifles black self-determination by picturing God as a God of all peoples."

* "We have had too much of white love, the love that tells blacks to turn the other cheek and go the second mile. What we need is the divine love as expressed in black power, which is the power of blacks to destroy their oppressors, here and now, by any means at their disposal."
The more you know about Rev. Wright's theology the less you like it, except in some circles.

Go Obama!

You might also like Liberation Theology and this video of James Cone in his own words.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

More Good News For Democrats

Here is something interesting. Saddam's intelligence agency paid for three Democrat Congressmen to go to Iraq and find some facts. Evidently Saddam gave them all the facts they needed.

Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

The three anti-war Democrats made the trip in October 2002, while the Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Iraq. While traveling, they called for a diplomatic solution.

Prosecutors say that trip was arranged by Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a Michigan charity official, who was charged Wednesday with setting up the junket at the behest of Saddam's regime. Iraqi intelligence officials allegedly paid for the trip through an intermediary and rewarded Al-Hanooti with 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil.
Talk about bad intelligence. Shouldn't these Congressmen have inquired into the source of the money for the trip? Well no. When did any of those mopes ever ask that question until it became an embarrassment?

I foresee an increase in charitable donations. I'm told that there are a number of Islamic charities that could use the money.

H/T Instapundit

Obama?

You can see Wright through him.


Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Another Class

There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs….There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who do not want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.

– Booker T. Washington

A Definition

Swiftboating = An Inconvenient Truth


Hillary Gets It

I rarely have anything good to say about Hillary Clinton. But she gets this one right.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a wide-ranging interview today with Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporters and editors, said she would have left her church if her pastor made the sort of inflammatory remarks Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor made.

"He would not have been my pastor," Clinton said. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."
Obama's campaign has accused Hillary of exploiting the controversy.

Well duh. Some one should explain to him that politics ain't bean bag. Maybe he should have just come out with total honesty. There are some things you don't talk about in America. Like anything that makes your candidate look bad. Especially when it comes from the opposition. Heh.

McCain Gets In A Salvo

John McCain has a question for Hillary. The "here is" refers to a video at the site.

Here is Sen. John McCain on March 24, 2008 asking when Sen. Hillary Clinton will apologize to Gen. David Petraeus for her remarks last year ridiculing the idea that "The Surge" strategy in Iraq was working. McCain also said both Clinton and Obama are advocating a policy of "disaster and defeat" in Iraq.
It looks to me like John has decided to complicate the fight between Hillary and Barack. I can't wait to see how Obama uses this. I can't wait to see Hillary's response.

This election season is more fun than mud wrestling. Wait. It is mud wrestling. Politics is such a lovely sport. Indecorous and totally fascinating.

H/T Instapundit

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I Just Don't Get It

The Jews have the right idea.

Never forget what happened in Germany.

Never hold present day Germans (other than the haters) responsible for the sins of their ancestors.

That is what is so toxic about Wright. Did he thank the dead of Gettysburg for their sacrifice on his behalf?

Did he thank the Jews for their unwavering anti-racism? For their early support of the NAACP?

I drank out of a Colored Only water fountain when I was five (I knew what it meant and it offended me). My best friend in high school (drinking buddy) was black. I could go on. I can honestly say I don't have a racist bone in my body.

So why am I being held responsible for the racists in America? Most of whom are by now gone or out of power any way. BTW I'm a member of the original anti-slavery party. The party that first stood against slavery. A Republican. Why is that a dirty word in most of the black community? After the Civil War most blacks were Republicans. Why can't Wright remember that? There is so much else he has no trouble remembering.

How about the original KKK Party - the Democrats. How about the original surrender to the slave states party? The Democrats?

Does the Rev Wright want to build bridges and make alliances or just spew? What ever fills the collection plate, eh?

Obama will never, never, ever get my vote. The Jews are deserting the Dems en mass over Obama/Wright.

I just don't get it. Probably because I'm too white and too Jewish.

Let me remind you also of the "Battle Hymn of The Republic". Just in case you think anti-slavery did not motivate the Northern troops.

Do you think they might sing that at Wright's church?

It is the closing song at Republican Party conventions.

And yet we are being accused of being the racist party. I don't get it.

Obama/Wright has done a better job of denying the black community allies than David Duke could ever have done. Is a simple "Thank you for your sacrifice" too much to ask?

Jews are eternally grateful for what America did in WW2 (even though it could have possibly done more). Where is the love that Jesus preached - at least love for black allies, let alone enemies?

I just don't get it.

Prompted by A Dream Defeated.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Pass It On



Heck NObama




Another Democrat Agaist Democracy

Just what, exactly is Barry O!'s foreign policy vision for America?

I spoke at length with Obama's foreign-policy brain trust, the advisers who will craft and implement a new global strategy if he wins the nomination and the general election. They envision a doctrine that first ends the politics of fear and then moves beyond a hollow, sloganeering "democracy promotion" agenda in favor of "dignity promotion," to fix the conditions of misery that breed anti-Americanism and prevent liberty, justice, and prosperity from taking root.
I get it. Our problems in the world are because our adversaries lack self esteem. It has nothing to do with our policies or theirs. They feel bad and act out, which is totally understandable. If we raise their self esteem all will be well. This experiment has been going on in American schools for decades. So far it hasn't provided any useful results. So now Obama wants to elevate this failure to the level of Foreign Policy? Breathtaking.

Our correspondent, Spencer Ackerman, also has this to say:
But while the doubts about Obama contain fair points, they also, to a certain degree, reflect a triumph of the Iraq War mind-set. Why not demand the destruction of al-Qaeda? Why not pursue the enlightened global leadership promised by liberal internationalism? Why not abandon fear? What is it we have to fear, exactly?
How about further attacks by radical Islamists? How about the Death to America fanatics in Iran? How about these Obama people are totally insane i.e. living in an alternate universe.

My advice? If the voices get really loud see a doctor. There are drugs that can help.

We have heard a lot about Obama's youthful dabbling in drugs. I believe he was taking the wrong ones.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Loyalty Oaths

When you state your political preference in Pennsylvania you have to sign a loyalty oath.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Election in Ohio has launched an investigation as to whether any of the 16,000 former Republicans who voted in the Dem primary lied on the loyalty pledges they signed.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that "dozens and dozens" of the pledges contained hand-written addenda, like "I don't believe in abortion."
I don't see how the loyalty oaths would pass Constitutional muster.

Republicans Are Quitting The Party

Yes. It is true. Republicans are quitting the party in droves. Over 100,000 people have joined the Democrats in Pennsylvania alone. And there in lies a tail.

March 23, 2008 -- While John McCain waits in the wings, Republicans are bolting his party in droves to join in the historic clash between Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

In Pennsylvania, site of the next primary, on April 22, Democrats have registered more than 111,000 voters since November, boosting their ranks to nearly 4 million. Pennsylvania Republicans, meanwhile, lost 13,000 voters from a total party membership of 3.2 million.

Pennsylvania's Republican exodus has exploded since March 4, the date McCain locked up the GOP's presidential nod and rendered his future primaries moot.

Democrats added a staggering 22,000 former independents and Republicans to their ranks in one week alone - an average of 132 an hour.

During the same period, state Republicans wooed 1,000 Democratic turncoats.

The Democratic rally could prove fleeting. A new Franklin & Marshall College poll says 1 in 5 of Pennsylvania's Democrats could wind up voting for McCain if their favorite party candidate loses the nomination.
That 1 in 5 number is not just Pennsylvania. It is nation wide. If Obama gets the nod, 20% of the Democrats would defect. If Clinton gets the nod, 20% of the Democrats would defect.

Democrats represent 30% of the electorate. Let us say that ordinarily the vote in the nation would split 50/50. What would a 20% defection do to the final outcome? That would be 6%. So subtract 6% from the Democrats and add 6% to the Republicans.

The final outcome would be 56% for the Rs and 44% for the Ds. A total blow out. When the defection rate gets that big there are often coat tails. This could be very bad for Democrats in the House.

No matter what the Democrats do they are screwed. And just 6 months ago the Republican cause looked hopeless.

The Chosen People

The Chosen People get extra punishment for not following G-ds laws. If Black people want the job (it looks like they are qualified) they are welcome to it.

From someone actually familiar with Jewish Theology.

The Civil War Was Not About Slavery

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.
Chorus
His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on."
Chorus
Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
Chorus
Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
Chorus
While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succour to the brave,
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Chorus
Our God is marching on.

From the wiki: The Battle Hymn of the Republic is usually played at the conclusion of the national convention of the Republican Party.

I'm Not Responsible

Eric at Classical Values is looking at a question that has vexed him for quite some time. Is A responsible for what B says? Actually the post in question is a little more convoluted than that, but the convolution - necessary for his point - is not what I want to talk about.

I'm not responsible for what David Duke says.

I am responsible for my associations with him. (I don't have any)

So is David Duke a nice guy? Who knows? Even if he was I wouldn't associate with him. I do not wish to be seen as a supporter of his views. Fair or unfair that is the way the world works. Since I can't see what is in your heart I have to judge by outward appearances. Yeah, I know - it sucks. A lot of human nature does not correspond to what we see as our ideal selves. Which may not be ideal at at. After all nature made us what we are in order to survive nature (and humans which are a big part of the nature we deal with).

So when does a person's views get bad enough that I should stop associating with that person?

It is a judgment call.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Stellar Performance

The American Thinker is taking a look at the latest poll results. It is not looking good for the fabulous Barry O.

* Arkansas: McCain leads Clinton 50-43. McCain leads Obama by 59-30.

* Kentucky: McCain leads Clinton 53-43. He destroys Obama 64-28.

* Lower middle income whites have deserted Obama. In one Pennsylvania poll, Clinton now leads Obama by 26. She has now taken the lead from him in North Carolina.

Rasmussen national numbers: Clinton 46, Obama 44.

* Head to head general: McCain 49, Obama 41; McCain 49, Clinton 43.
The Democrats are between a rock and a hard place. Blacks are their most reliable supporters. So how did Barry O! get the nod from the Democrat leaders?

Here is what I think. Hidden racism of the Dem leaders (that they so often accuse Republicans of) snookered them into anointing Obama.

A black man? Check
Half white? Check
Outstanding public speaker? Check
From a large state? Check
Harvard grad? Check
Taught at U Chicago? Check
Belongs to a large and popular black church? Check

Obviously, he is black and doesn't need vetting. The perfect candidate. Check!

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. All the way to November.

Already there are indications of anti-war protests in Denver by a group called Recreate '68. What happens when the Black man who played by the rules and is clearly ahead doesn't get the nod?

Blood in the streets.

1968 all over again. Will Detroit burn this time? Do Dems dare risk it? "Come on baby light my fire."

A Little Exchange

Over at Just One Minute I spotted this exchange between some commenters.

Obama's connections to Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, Tony Rezko, and Nadhmi Auchi pose some serious questions about his judgement. Unless he gives the go ahead to Michigan and Florida to hold new primaries,and of course he won't do that, he will be our nominee. If you don't agree with disenfranchising voters, please go to www.ipetitions.com/petition/votersunite and sign the petition. It only takes one minute to let the DNC know that we demand that our votes count.

Posted by: Nancy | March 22, 2008 at 09:26 AM
Which was followed by this reply.
Dear Nancy,

We think far too much of Barack to wish to interfere in his stellar performance in leading us all to truly united diversification. Sure, his magnificent efforts have been slightly tarnished by those truly minor inconsistencies which you mention but we know, that as time wears on, the full panoply of his diverse yet unifying life experience will become clear to the vast majority of Americans and he will justly reap the reward which he deserves.

We look forward to that day and feel that the process, so carefully crafted by Terry McAuliffe and Hillary Clinton should be allowed to run the determined course. Who are we to gainsay the wisdom of the Democratic Party regarding the rules concerning Florida and Michigan?

What is done is done. If you are unwilling to apply the adage "let the dead bury the dead" to the Clinton campaign, we remain willing (and able) to help complete the task.

PS - You certainly do make good points concerning Obama.

Posted by: Rick Ballard | March 22, 2008 at 09:49 AM
Yes. She certainly did make some good points Rick.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Turn Up The Heat

Global Warming is not what it used to be. It appears that despite a continuing rise in CO2 global temperatures for the last 10 years have been falling. If you count just since 2002 temperatures have been stagnant. The ABC mentioned is the Australian Broadcasting Company.

Last Monday - on ABC Radio National, of all places - there was a tipping point of a different kind in the debate on climate change. It was a remarkable interview involving the co-host of Counterpoint, Michael Duffy and Jennifer Marohasy, a biologist and senior fellow of Melbourne-based think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. Anyone in public life who takes a position on the greenhouse gas hypothesis will ignore it at their peril.

Duffy asked Marohasy: "Is the Earth stillwarming?"

She replied: "No, actually, there has been cooling, if you take 1998 as your point of reference. If you take 2002 as your point of reference, then temperatures have plateaued. This is certainly not what you'd expect if carbon dioxide is driving temperature because carbon dioxide levels have been increasing but temperatures have actually been coming down over the last 10 years."
Jeeze. That doesn't fit the models. Could our vaunted model makers and the Super Genius James Hansen have made a huge mistake? How is that possible?
Duffy then turned to the question of how the proponents of the greenhouse gas hypothesis deal with data that doesn't support their case. "People like Kevin Rudd and Ross Garnaut are speaking as though the Earth is still warming at an alarming rate, but what is the argument from the other side? What would people associated with the IPCC say to explain the (temperature) dip?"

Marohasy: "Well, the head of the IPCC has suggested natural factors are compensating for the increasing carbon dioxide levels and I guess, to some extent, that's what sceptics have been saying for some time: that, yes, carbon dioxide will give you some warming but there are a whole lot of other factors that may compensate or that may augment the warming from elevated levels of carbon dioxide.

"There's been a lot of talk about the impact of the sun and that maybe we're going to go through or are entering a period of less intense solar activity and this could be contributing to the current cooling."
The sun drives the climate? What an unusual idea. What will those wacky scientists come up with next?
Duffy: "Can you tell us about NASA's Aqua satellite, because I understand some of the data we're now getting is quite important in our understanding of how climate works?"

Marohasy: "That's right. The satellite was only launched in 2002 and it enabled the collection of data, not just on temperature but also on cloud formation and water vapour. What all the climate models suggest is that, when you've got warming from additional carbon dioxide, this will result in increased water vapour, so you're going to get a positive feedback. That's what the models have been indicating. What this great data from the NASA Aqua satellite ... (is) actually showing is just the opposite, that with a little bit of warming, weather processes are compensating, so they're actually limiting the greenhouse effect and you're getting a negative rather than a positive feedback."

Duffy: "The climate is actually, in one way anyway, more robust than was assumed in the climate models?"

Marohasy: "That's right ... These findings actually aren't being disputed by the meteorological community. They're having trouble digesting the findings, they're acknowledging the findings, they're acknowledging that the data from NASA's Aqua satellite is not how the models predict, and I think they're about to recognise that the models really do need to be overhauled and that when they are overhauled they will probably show greatly reduced future warming projected as a consequence of carbon dioxide."
Let me see if I get this. The earth heats. The heat causes more clouds. By reflecting sunlight clouds limit the temperature rise. So water vapor is a negative feedback element, rather than a positive one as the warmologists have been saying. Who would have thunk this? This is so novel. Totally unexpected. Well not exactly. I have been saying something along these lines for over a year.

Global Warming Not So Hot
Clouds
More Clouds
Model Prediction
Climate Alchemy - Turning Hot Air Into Gold
Clouds In Chambers
Feedbacks Misdiagnosed
The Big Heat Pipe In The Sky

It is not like I haven't been trying to warn those fools.

Climate scientists Roger A. Pielke Sr. and Roger A. Pielke Jr. had this to say in 2006.
There is no greater danger to support for action on important issues of human impacts on the environment than an overselling of what climate science can provide. If the climate behaves in ways that are unexpected or surprising it will be more than just credibility that is lost. Advocates for action should think carefully when gambling with the unknown predictive abilities of climate models. The human influence on the climate system is real, but the climate may not always cooperate.”
Of course they were ridiculed. The warmists had the best scientists the best computers and the best models. What could possibly go wrong? How about GIGO?

Man is Al Gore going to be pissed. Carbon indulgences are going to be a lot harder to sell now. Fortunately the Euros and California have already passed laws against carbon emissions. Making it harder for coal fired plants to get built. Raising their costs for electricity. Those Euros and the wacky Californians are really smart. Too smart by half.

A good page to read to learn even more is Icecap US.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Big Enough

A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have - Thomas Jefferson

I haven't checked if Jefferson actually said this. It is still true.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Closing The Deal

When it comes to customer satisfaction the rule of thumb is that every satisfied customer will influence five others and every dissatisfied customer will influence ten. You had better keep your customers happy.

So how has Mr. Happy, the glorious Barry O, been doing with his customers? Not well. Not well at all.

I'm going to quote a few comments from the above link. They contain a world of information about Democrat customer satisfaction.

Bill Richardson could not get any votes for himself what good is he going to do for Obama. Mr. Obama needs to face it, His 20 year relationship with his mentor/Rev.Wright is hurting the democratic party in the worst way. How could he expect people to vote for him after he sat in that church for 20 years. He didn't walk away from that hate. I think his and his wifes true feeling show from time to time "First time in my adult life time I am proud of my country" "typical white person".

Posted by: 30 yrdem | Mar 21, 2008 1:53:28 PM
and
I will work with other Clinton supporters towards a write-in movement. I WILL NOT vote for Obama or Mccain, but I will vote. I think the buyers-remorse is starting to set in, and by the time November rolls around the democrats will have squandered away the general election by nominating someone that has not been properly vetted and has no experience. Aside from this major blunder, they have also looked incredibly incompetent during this primary by not fixing the MI &FL votes, using super-delegates, not having a winner-take all in primary states, and having no strong leadership to make anything happen. I will never be a republican, but I think I have to remove myself from the Democratic Party as well.

PS. I thought 4 years ago America had made one of their biggest mistakes by reelecting Bush, but now after having 8 years of an incompetent president, Americans, with the help of the media, have pushed through a candidate that they are taking a big chance on vs. one that has proven time and again to get things done and work diligently for the people. I don't believe that Obama will win the general election, so essentially Americans are asking for 4 more years of the republican party controlling our country.

Posted by: Andrea | Mar 21, 2008 10:52:12 AM
Buyers remorse. Yep. Plus we have the desperation setting in syndrome.
SEE! This is THE problem. Black people think that just because all White people aren't voting for Obama, they're racists! NOTHING could be further from the truth! This "typical white person" worked for Obama's Illinois Senate campaign. I donated money to his Senate campaign. I attended Illinois Obama rallies AND I voted for the man in his Senate bid.

I am NOT voting for Mr. Hope because he used the race card against Hillary and Bill Clinton in NH and SC and they have always worked to help the AA community! Now you have the NERVE to call ME and the Clintons and anyone else who doesn't vote for Mr. Hope, RACISTS just because we don't like him? This "typical white person" doesn't like him because he's a typical slimy politician who's as tainted as they come.

Posted by: Vickie | Mar 21, 2008 2:06:11 PM
Well, I voted for Obama too, in '04. I can't abide theocons. I called it the communist vs. theocon race. I voted for the communist. Probably a Rovian plot on my part.
John McCain has been in the senate for years. He's been called a "maverick" by the liberal press. They have praised him to the hilt for years. Nothing can be "exposed" that will be of any concern.

However, more to come on Obama. It will just drip, drip, drip out till the election. If you think people want to see Obama's church people at the Inaugural, you're insane. Obama is toast in the general. TOAST!

Posted by: Jo | Mar 21, 2008 12:04:46 PM
And what about Obama's church people? Well that is a story in itself.

It seems Mr. Popularity's minister has some strange ideas. For an American.
JERUSALEM – Sen. Barack Obama's Chicago church reprinted a manifesto by Hamas that defended terrorism as legitimate resistance, refused to recognize the right of Israel to exist and compared the terror group's official charter – which calls for the murder of Jews – to America's Declaration of Independence.

The Hamas piece was published on the "Pastor's Page" of the Trinity United Church of Christ newsletter reserved for Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., whose anti-American, anti-Israel remarks landed Obama in hot water, prompting the presidential candidate to deliver a major race speech earlier this week.

Hamas, responsible for scores of shootings, suicide bombings and rocket launchings against civilian population centers, is listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department.
Obama's Pastor is turning out to be a real gem. A gift that keeps on giving.

I'm Jewish and have my ear to the ground in that community. Obama has already lost a major portion of the Jewish vote. A friend called me the other day to cry about what Obama has done to the country. Another friend told me that some Jews in liberal circles are coming out openly in favor of McCain. This is something that never happened in '04 re: liberal Jews (read Reform Congregations). Back then if you were going to defect you had to keep quiet to preserve your social standing.

This has not just cost Obama. Hillary's numbers are falling too.

Obama has ruined the brand. It will be interesting to see if the Democrats can survive as a party let alone this election.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

No Extra Points

Oliver Willis has a few things to say about conservatives.

The base impulse of the modern conservative movement - especially the blogosphere and talk radio contingents - is to always appeal to base elements. Racism, sexism, smearing opponents as the worst things possible...
Of course the Democrats have a better way.

Vote for the Black Guy because, you know, he is Black.

Vote for the Woman because, you know, she is Female.

And no extra points for military service you baby killer.

Well what does baby killer John Fn Kerry have to say?
Speaking of the race speech from Tuesday, Obama supporter John Kerry gave an interview with a local N.H. paper, reports NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli. In it, Kerry said the color of Obama's skin makes him uniquely qualified for president and even reach out to the moderate Islam world.
So I agree with the Democrats; this campaign is not about race except when it is.

HT Althouse via Instapundit and Kausfiles via Instapundit.

Identity Politics

Identity politics eventually fails because of the problem of the division of spoils. So you wind up with a party spoiling for division.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Liberation Theology

Spengler of Asia Times takes a look at the theology of Rev. Wright. It is not pretty.

During the black-power heyday of the late 1960s, after the murder of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, the mentors of Wright decided that blacks were the Chosen People. James Cone, the most prominent theologian in the "black liberation" school, teaches that Jesus Christ himself is black. As he explains:
Christ is black therefore not because of some cultural or psychological need of black people, but because and only because Christ really enters into our world where the poor were despised and the black are, disclosing that he is with them enduring humiliation and pain and transforming oppressed slaves into liberating servants.
Theologically, Cone's argument is as silly as the "Aryan Christianity" popular in Nazi Germany, which claimed that Jesus was not a Jew at all but an Aryan Galilean, and that the Aryan race was the "chosen people". Cone, Hopkins and Wright do not propose, of course, to put non-blacks in concentration camps or to conquer the world, but racially-based theology nonetheless is a greased chute to the nether regions.
It all starts from: "All men are Not created equal.

Let me add that the Jewish idea of the Chosen People is widely misunderstood. It is not about special treatment. It is about being held to a higher standard and more severe punishment for failing to meet that standard. For Jews there are 613 laws that must be followed. For non-Jews only seven.

Spengler says this theology is a heresy.
In this respect black liberation theology is identical in content to all the ethnocentric heresies that preceded it. Christianity has no use for the nations, a "drop of the bucket" and "dust on the scales", in the words of Isaiah. It requires that individuals turn their back on their ethnicity to be reborn into Israel in the spirit. That is much easier for Americans than for the citizens of other nations, for Americans have no ethnicity. But the tribes of the world do not want to abandon their Gentile nature and as individuals join the New Israel. Instead they demand eternal life in their own Gentile flesh, that is, to be the "Chosen People".
Then Spengler finishes with a look into what might have motivated Obama to join Wright's church.
It cannot be in Obama's best interests to appeal to the authority of Cone, whose unapologetic racism must be repugnant to the great majority of Americans, including the majority of black Americans, who for the most part belong to Christian churches that preach mainstream Christian doctrine. Christianity teaches unconditional love for a God whose love for humankind is absolute; it does not teach the repudiation of a God who does not destroy our enemies on the spot.

Whether Obama takes seriously the doctrines that Wright preaches is another matter. It is possible that Obama does not believe a word of what Wright, Cone and Hopkins teach. Perhaps he merely used the Trinity United Church of Christ as a political stepping-stone. African-American political life is centered around churches, and his election to the Illinois State Senate with the support of Chicago's black political machine required church membership. Trinity United happens to be Chicago's largest and most politically active black church.
Spengler then finishes with why Obama is a tragic figure.
Obama holds his own views close. But it seems unlikely that he would identify with the ideological fits of the black-power movement of the 1960s. Obama does not come to the matter with the perspective of an American black, but of the child of a left-wing anthropologist raised in the Third World, as I wrote elsewhere (Obama's women reveal his secret , Asia Times Online, February 26, 2008). It is possible that because of the Wright affair Obama will suffer for what he pretended to be, rather than for what he really is.
Actually the church preaches a Marxist doctrine. One Obama was very friendly with due to his association with his Communist mentor Frank Marshall Davis. So in a round about way he is being punished politically for supporting a political doctrine that is anathema to the vast majority of Americans. He picked his church because it was friendly to his political beliefs. He is about to be punished most severely for it.

So perhaps Obama is one of the Chosen People after all.

If you want to learn more about this theology may I suggest:

Liberation Theology
Black Liberation Theology

Or the works of Cornell West and some of the others Spengler mentions.

Cornell West speaks about Obama

Cross Posted at Classical Values

We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For

The bus I drove picked me up at the bus stop.

I'd like to see Goedel parse that one.

The Wit And Wisdom of Barack Obama.

Is Rove Behind Obama?

Maybe. The City Edition has the history of the Republican backing of Obama.

Evidence of a covert campaign to undermine the presidential primaries is rife, so it's curious that the Democractic Party and even some within the G.O.P. have ignored the actual elephant in the room this year. That would be Karl Rove. Long accused of rigging the two previous presidential elections, this master of deceit would have us believe that he's gone off to sit in a corner and write op-eds.

Not so. According to an article in Time magazine published last November, Republicans have been organized in several states to throw their weight behind Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic rival of Hillary Clinton. At least three former fundraisers for President Bush flushed his coffers with cash early on in the race, something the deep pockets had not done for any candidate in their own party. With receipts topping $100 million in 2007, the first-term Illinois senator broke the record for contributions. It was a remarkable feat, considering that most Americans had not even heard of him before 2005.
That is the opening. It is a rather long piece but well worth a read.

But wait. There is more. In December of 2007 Earl Ofari Hutchinson looked at Karl Rove's advice to the Obama campaign.
It's one of the oldest ethnic clichés in the book. The one that says beware of Greeks bearing gifts. But there's nothing ethnically incorrect about saying it when former Bush political guru Karl Rove bears political gifts to a Democrat. The recipient of the Rove largesse is Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama. In an open memo to Obama, Rove caused a titter when he ticked off six things that Obama should and could do to nail Hillary Clinton. Rove's sage suggestions were that he should mount an all-out no holds barred attack on her personality, record, and demeanor. Rove told Obama to stop sounding wishy-washy on the hot button issues such as immigration, and to tell the voters just who he is and what kind of change they'd expect in an Obama White House.
Earl goes on:
Rove's Obama ploy, and that what it is, is a slick, sophisticated, reversal of the conservative Republican's devil tag on Clinton. But it's every bit as cynical, and calculating. Paint Obama as a good guy, a fresh face, and someone who can make a real change for America. The exact last things that Rove wants to see in a Democrat in the White House. But an on-the-attack Obama who dogs Clinton at every step can create havoc in the Democratic Party. It could plunge the party into an orgy of Clinton-Obama sniping, bashing, and finger pointing. That would fuel dissension, stoke bitter divisions and deflect attacks from Bush policies and the GOP candidates that for better or worse are Siamese twin like welded to him and his policies.
Which is exactly what is happening.

How about letting the man speak for himself.
Not that you have asked for advice, but here it is anyway: Iowa is your chance to best her. If you do not do it there, odds are you never will anywhere. You are way behind her in most national polls. The only way to change that is to beat her in Iowa so people around America take another look at you. You did a smart thing organising effectively in the early primary states. But you can take advantage of that only if you win Iowa and keep her from building an overwhelming sense of invincibility and inevitability.

The good news is you have again got "the buzz". Polls are looking better for you in Iowa and the other early states. Your press is improving, with your performance at the Iowa Jefferson-Jackson dinner a big help. Hillary Clinton has made unforced errors. But she is still the frontrunner and there are several things you need to do quickly to win.
Evidently Obama listened, or figured it out himself. It worked. Obama is up and the Democrat Party is down.

Karl you magnificent bastard.

Just six months ago I had my doubts about the viability of the Republican Party in the '08 elections. Now I'm bullish.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Oil Prices Plunge

Oil prices plunged today on news of a strengthening dollar and weak demand.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices experienced the sharpest plunge in 17 years on Wednesday, driven down by weakening demand and a stronger dollar.

U.S. light crude for April delivery fell $4.94 a barrel to settle at $104.48 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The drop in oil was the largest single-day slide in dollar terms since Jan. 17, 1991, when oil fell by a third, or $10.56, after the United States launched an attack against Iraq to begin the first Gulf War.

In percentage terms, oil fell 4.51% on Wednesday - the biggest drop by that measure since August.
Oil may have hit a peak. We shall see.

What I want to know is how declining interest rates (bigger money supply) lead to a strengthening of the dollar. Something doesn't add up.

A Strategic Error

I see a Republican landslide coming. McCain in the upper 50s.

In addition maybe the Ds will rethink their love for identity politics. It has not served them well.

I think McCains's "we win they lose" speaks to the American spirit. What have the Ds got? Hope and Change. BTW a poll I just saw shows Obama sinking like a stone in Ohio. Normally these things go slower. A few points a week. Obama is losing around a point a day. Given the fact that it takes about a month or two for the word to get out it is quite possible Obama will be in the 30s by convention time in late August. Right now he is in the mid 40s in Ohio. Down from a high water mark of 50 against McCain.

Republicans have done what every military commander hopes for. Get the other side in a position where they have no good options. What ever the Ds do now will piss off a large fraction of their voters. Obama has to get the nod to keep the party together. If Hillary gets the nod expect Black Conspiracy theories about how Whitey was 'ridin dirty' on the Black Man. Again. A humiliating loss by Obama will get them to attribute it to American racism. Especially Republican racism. A strategic error. The Dem party - which was united totally with victory assured - is now facing a defeat of staggering proportions. When it gets as bad as I envision there are negative coat tails. This has got to have party leaders shitting bricks.

They are now in a position where they cannot win with the black vote. Nor can they win without it. They are on the horns of a dilemma.

Successful operational maneuver can occur only in conjunction with a sound strategic counterpart. Successful maneuver at any level is derived from reserving options for yourself and denying them to your enemy. William Tecumseh Sherman would have called it putting your enemy on the horns of a dilemma, a philosophy which must transcend the battlefield.
Yep.

What is the basic fault line of Democrat politics? Identity politics. I don't know who conceived of getting the first major Black Candidate to run against the first major Woman Candidate, but it was a brilliant move for fracturing the Democrat coalition. Now I admit it wasn't a Republican idea. However, one of the rules of warfare is: If your enemy is making a mistake, don't interrupt them. In fact do every thing possible to encourage them. When it is too late for the enemy to change his dispositions bring in the heavy artillery. Cut them to sheds so that they lose unit cohesion. In military operations 10% casualties (in ordinary units) is all you need to destroy unit cohesion. The Romans called it decimation, so this is really old knowledge. I'd say similar numbers are effective in politics.

Obama still has the Rezko trial to get through. And we haven't even touched on Obama's Communist mentor Frank Marshall Davis. Or Liberation Theology. Or Black Liberation Theology.

November may not just be a tactical victory for Republicans, but also a strategic one. It will be very difficult for the Democrats to get the Party back together after this one. All the kings horses....

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Is Obama Wright?

There is a video going around that could very well turn the election. Is Obama Wright? If you have the bandwidth have a look.

It is not real well done. The stuttering approach (origins in rap turntabilism?) is not very artful. However, the juxtapositions are quite artful.

My guess about the Nov elections? McCain in the upper 50s.

I don't know how the Democrats keep doing it. Al Gore couldn't win his home state. Kerry the warrior was really the anti-warrior. And now the black man who is going to heal the racist divide is shown to have a twenty year relationship with a black minister who is an out and out racist. It is some kind of genius.

The Republicans have been very lucky in their choice of enemies.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Great Healer

The Great Healer of the Racial Divide could not Change his close friend and confidant despite 20 years of contact. If he gets to be President how in the heck is he going to manage for 250 million plus lost souls?

Insensitivity

Obama is against racial insensitivity.

"I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude."
Barack Hussein Obama. April 2007. Rev Wright was on Obama's campaign staff until a few days ago.

It is for the children.
"He didn't just cross the line,"Obama said."He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America."
Cross Posted at Classical Values

Drive Us Apart

Beware using religion to create division.

"Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart. It got hijacked," the Democratic presidential candidate said in remarks prepared for delivery before the national meeting of the United Church of Christ.

"Part of it's because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who've been all too eager to exploit what divides us," the Illinois senator said.

"At every opportunity, they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design," according to an advance copy of his speech.
The words of Barack Hussein Obama. June, 2007.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Political Aspirations

From the Wall Street Journal by Shelby Steele.

Thus, nothing could be more dangerous to Mr. Obama's political aspirations than the revelation that he, the son of a white woman, sat Sunday after Sunday -- for 20 years -- in an Afrocentric, black nationalist church in which his own mother, not to mention other whites, could never feel comfortable. His pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a challenger who goes far past Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson in his anti-American outrage ("God damn America").

How does one "transcend" race in this church? The fact is that Barack Obama has fellow-traveled with a hate-filled, anti-American black nationalism all his adult life, failing to stand and challenge an ideology that would have no place for his own mother. And what portent of presidential judgment is it to have exposed his two daughters for their entire lives to what is, at the very least, a subtext of anti-white vitriol?

The Blue Collar Vote

If only Obama had said his wife made him join that church. That would have locked up the working class male sympathy vote right there and assured female voters that he was amenable to female persuasion. A twofer.

More On The Obama Speech

Hope for change springs eternal. From the comments at the Politico:

Wow! How refreshing! I don't think Obama can solve our problems for us - no one can do that. But he can help us get unstuck from the destructive patterns of the past.
And Obama is going to do that by making sure that his kids attend Sunday School at Wright's Church.

You know I'm starting to suspect that Obama's followers are delusional.

My guess is that when the speech is fully deconstructed it will do Obama more harm than good. It will not stanch the blood letting. Some poll I just came across (I should save more links) says that Obama is still the favorite of Democrats. As Eric of Clasical Values (who has a link to the missing poll) says:
If McCain is lucky, the majority will get its way.
I think the majority will get its way. I think that was telegraphed by Hillary in the 3AM commercial that implies either McCain (implied given the narrative) or Clinton was more qualified than Obama for the 3 AM call. In fact Hillary even said it out loud.

Always Be Sincere

Obama's race speech has been posted and you can also watch the video. I'll have more to say about it later. For now I want to leave you with this thought:

The #1 rule for politicians: always be sincere, whether you mean it or not. (cribbed from Flanders and Swann "The Cannibal Song" which this is not: Flanders and Swann )

Monday, March 17, 2008

Faith In Science

The only faith that science subscribes to is that the universe is orderly and the nature of that order can be discovered.

Every thing else is up to the individual.

Sgt. Mom Needs Your Help

Sgt. Mom needs your help.

She worked for a small business and her boss died Saturday of natural causes while she was in the next room. While she is tied up helping to straighten out the remains of the business she is out of a job.

Please visit her and drop something in the tip jar.

Update: Eric of Classical Values chimes in:

Let me second that! I hit her tip jar, and I urge readers to do the same.

Remember, there is no tip jar at Classical Values, so please be generous with Sgt. Mom.

And if you are one of those cheapskates who thinks hitting a tip jar is like giving something for nothing (which it isn't), then please go buy her excellent book, To Truckee's Trail.

Yes It Is

It is so much fun watching a train wreck. It is what got me posting obsessively about the Duke Rape Case. You knew a wreck was coming. All that was left was to obsess about the details and wait for tomorrow's news.

The Great Uniter has performed a service to the Democrat Party similar to the one Mike Nifong performed for Durham, North Carolina. The Great Uniter can't even unite his own party. Better yet, if this internecine fighting keeps up for another five months it could be decades before the Democrats recover. It will be 1972 all over again. It may be that this election will be not just a tactical victory for Republicans, but also a strategic one. We still have eight months to go until the election. A lot can happen. However, I never imagined the Republicans would be looking so good so early in the election season.

This comment at ABC News blog gives the general flavor of what is going on there and with the Democrat Party in general.

This is hilarious! I've never had so much fun as reading these posts.

Democrats fighting Democrats, Better than I could have ever dreamed.
Yes it is.

Back To Normal

Obama has said he didn't hear firsthand any of "Wrong Way" Wright's anti-American diatribes. It appears that that statement is not entirely correct.

Contrary to Senator Barack Obama’s claim that he never heard his pastor Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. preach hatred of America, Obama was in the pews last July 22 when the minister blamed the “white arrogance” of America’s Caucasian majority for the world’s suffering, especially the oppression of blacks.

Senator Obama has sought to separate himself from his pastor’s incendiary remarks, issuing a statement Friday rejecting them as “inflammatory and appalling” but failing to renounce Wright himself for his venomous and paranoid denunciations of America.
And it just gets better.
If Obama’s claims are true that he was completely unaware that Wright’s trademark preaching style at the Trinity United Church of Christ has targeted “white” America and Israel, he would have been one of the few people in Chicago to be so uninformed. Wright’s reputation for spewing hate is well known.

In fact, Obama was present in the South Side Chicago church on July 22 last year when Jim Davis, a freelance correspondent for Newsmax, attended services along with Obama.

In his sermon that day, Wright tore into America, referring to the “United States of White America” and lacing his sermon with expletives as Obama listened. Hearing Wright’s attacks on his own country, Obama had the opportunity to walk out, but Davis said the senator sat in his pew and nodded in agreement.
Reporters in church. What will they think of next.

In any case this is comforting news. The Great Democrat Hope for unity and an end to the racial divides in America is just another lying politician. Whew. Things are getting back to normal. Had me worried for a while.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Student Of Politics

And now how about a little bit about Obama, student of politics

In his books, Obama admits attending "socialist conferences" and coming into contact with Marxist literature. But he ridicules the charge of being a "hard-core academic Marxist," which was made by his colorful and outspoken 2004 U.S. Senate opponent, Republican Alan Keyes.

However, through Frank Marshall Davis, Obama had an admitted relationship with someone who was publicly identified as a member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). The record shows that Obama was in Hawaii from 1971-1979, where, at some point in time, he developed a close relationship, almost like a son, with Davis, listening to his "poetry" and getting advice on his career path. But Obama, in his book, Dreams From My Father, refers to him repeatedly as just "Frank."
Well, we all make mistakes in your youth. So has Obama come to his senses and figured out that the free market solutions to problems are probably in our best interests?

I didn't think so.

In 2004 I voted for the communist (Obama) over the theocon (Keyes). And I said so and why, before the election. But as I have stated frequently about Ron Paul, once is enough.

Buying Time

There is a discussion going on at Steve Sailer's about Obama's anthropologist mom. How she married a guy from Indonesia who didn't exactly see eye to eye with her about feminist values once she was married to him.

Then in the comments we get a lot of disparaging remarks about McCain and the current war. You know - the war monger bit. And of course Obama is the only one who can clear up the mess, because he is anti-war. Or at least anti-this one. I responded:

About that Islam/anthropology theme.

I'm sure you are all deep thinkers on this but might it not be true that if Islam started the war (say 1400 years ago with American involvement beginning around 1776) it is not going to end until Islam comes to its senses?

But maybe you guys are really part of the anthropology/kumbayah crowd that thinks if we can just talk with them and answer their grievance (why aren't you all devout Muslims?) it will all go away.

Good luck wid dat.

If it was me, and I believed we were in a war not of our own making (do we have the rights to Andalusia yet so we can return it?) you'd want a guy like McCain (despite his myriad other faults).

To my way of thinking McCain gets one thing right. All the rest get nothing right. So what is it? Light a candle or curse the darkness.

BTW we generally get the government we deserve. Your beef should not be with the candidates but the voters. Until they see things differently the best we can hope for is a slow decline. Better than a fast decline. The voters might come to their senses before the worst is done.

If we are not in a position to get what we want, delay in getting what we don't want is a useful option.

Money Well Spent

Obama gave Wright $20,000 last year to help him spread his message. Money well spent I'm sure. The message got out.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Division Of The Spoils

Like all criminal organizations the Democrat Party is falling apart over the division of the spoils.

Executive Action

BHO says that he was unaware of his preacher's message. Is that so?

Obama's Church: Cauldron of Division

Jim Davis Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007

Presidential candidate Barack Obama preaches on the campaign trail that America needs a new consensus based on faith and bipartisanship, yet he continues to attend a controversial Chicago church whose pastor routinely refers to "white arrogance" and "the United States of White America."

In fact, Obama was in attendance at the church when these statements were made on July 22.

Obama has spoken and written of his special relationship with that pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

The connection between the two goes back to Obama's days as a young community organizer in Chicago's South Side when he first met the charismatic Wright. Obama credited Wright with converting him, then a religious skeptic, to Christianity.
August 2007. It is now March 2008. That is seven months since the article came out and 8 months since the speech. And he is just now getting around to do something about it?

Not exactly forceful executive action.

Loyalty

If Obama has taught us nothing else, we should by now know that loyalty must have its limits.

I'm an R. Huckabee would never, ever, ever get my vote.

Just as I voted Bush/Obama over Bush/Keyes.

Being just about party means I have lost my voice.

Prompted by a discussion at Talk Left. H/T Instapundit

Faith

Faith is an interesting thing. Belief almost always comes before knowledge. Yet if knowledge does not inform belief, knowledge and belief are useless.

Never The Same Again

White, female, 60, lifetime registered Democrat. However, I may well leave the Democrat party after the debacle of this year's election campaigning. The party will never be able to recover from the chasm that is getting larger by the minute and the DNC leaders are sitting idly by and letting it to get even worse. The party will never be the same again, sadly.
To quote something I heard a lot in the 60s: Yipppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

From the comments on a piece by Gerald Posner at the Huffington Post.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Your Money Back If Not Satisfied

It seems a lot of Democrat Party donors are not satisfied with the way the primaries are going and promise to withhold donations if their complaints are not resolved.

Democrats in Michigan and Florida struggled Friday to resolve the impasse over their disputed January primaries, coming up with a plan to hold a June primary in Michigan while remaining deadlocked in Florida.

Reflecting how tense the situation has become, influential fund-raisers for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton have stepped up their behind-the-scenes pressure on national party leaders to resolve the matter, with some even threatening to withhold their donations to the Democratic National Committee unless it seats the delegates from the two states or holds new primaries there.
That should improve their chances in November.
Pushing to seat the Florida delegates, at least one top Clinton fund-raiser, Paul Cejas, a Miami businessman who has given the Democratic National Committee $63,500 since 2003, has demanded Democratic officials return his 2007 contribution of $28,500, which they have agreed to do.

“If you’re not going to count my vote, I’m not going to give you my money,” said Mr. Cejas, who was the United States ambassador to Belgium from 1998 to 2001.

Christopher Korge, a Florida real estate developer who is another top fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton, held an event last year in his home that brought in about $140,000 for the national party, which was set aside in a special account for the general election battle in Florida. But he told committee officials this week that if Florida’s delegate conundrum was not settled satisfactorily he would be asking for the money back.

“If we do not resolve this issue,” Mr. Korge said, “I think it’s safe to say there will be a request for a return of $140,000.”
I guess some Democrats are really not satisfied.

One Democrat understands what all this means for the party.
March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo said the presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama could be ``ruinous'' for the Democratic Party if the contest isn't resolved before the August nominating convention.

Cuomo, a Democrat, said the party may be able to avoid a damaging convention fight if Clinton and Obama teamed up on a party ticket, or if the media forced the candidates before then to substantively address big policy issues facing the nation, such as the economy and the war in Iraq.

``It would be ruinous to the Democrats to get to the convention without an arrangement of some kind,'' Cuomo said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt,'' scheduled to air today.
This is just peachy. For McCain. I like that.

To find out what rank and file Democrats are thinking about this read the comments here. An example:
Seriously as a Democrat, if Obama were to represent our party I would rather vote for McCain in the General Election. Obama?s connections to radical mentors to which he openly admits raises serious questions about his motives. I will not be party to any person connected in anyway to radical racist anti-Semitic groups.
Another goody:
If Clinton takes the nomination, I'm voting for Nader.
It looks to me like this election will come down to party unity. Something the Democrats seem to be avoiding for the time being.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

He Says, He Says

linearthinker says to me:

The older I get, the less I'm impressed with everyone's insatiable appetites for instant gratification.

You may quote me.


So I says to him:

I have nothing against instant gratification. Sometimes it just takes a while.

And you can quote me :-)

Wonder Drug

Instapundit put out a call for help and messages of support for a blogger whose wife was suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis. So I did my usual and checked to see if marijuana would be of any help. And what do you know. (the numbers in the text refer to footnotes from here)

Recent research is accumulating evidence that cannabis therapies are effective for arthritis and the other rheumatic and degenerative hip, joint and connective tissue disorders. Since these are frequently extremely painful conditions, the ability of cannabis to combat chronic pain makes it useful for that aspect, both on its own and as an adjunct therapy that enhances the efficacy of opiod painkillers. The use of cannabis as a treatment for musclo-skeletal pain in western medicine dates to the 1700s.12-13

But cannabis has also been shown to have powerful immune-modulation and anti-inflammatory properties,14-17 indicating it may treat chronic inflammatory diseases directly. In fact, one of the earliest records of medical use of cannabis, a Chinese text dating from ca. 2000 BC, notes that cannabis “undoes rheumatism,” suggesting its anti-inflammatory effects were known even then. 18

Modern research on cannabidiol (CBD), one of the non-psychoactive components of cannabis, has found that it suppresses the immune response in mice and rats that is responsible for a disease resembling arthritis, protecting them from severe damage to their joints and markedly improving their condition.19-20

Human studies have shown cannabis to be an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, one of the enumerated conditions for which many states allow legal medical use. Cannabis has a demonstrated ability to improve mobility and reduce morning stiffness and inflammation. Research has also shown that patients are able to reduce their usage of potentially harmful Non-Steroidal Anti- Inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) when using cannabis as an adjunct therapy.21-22

Medical researchers at Hebrew University in Jerusalem found in the metabolism of Cannabidiol an acid with potent anti-inflammatory action comparable to the drug indomethacin, but without the considerable gastrointestinal side effects associated with that drug. 23
Now would some one please tell me why this drug is illegal?

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Friday, March 14, 2008

Purity

You guys who don’t like McCain are forgetting one important point: it is ultimately the will of the people.

If you move the people (difficult) the politicians will follow.

So do we move the electorate slightly to the Right with McCain? Or do we go whole hog Socialist and let the D win?

I used to be a purity type guy. When I was a Libertarian. Where did that lead? Even Ron Paul is a Republican.

Inspired by a discussion at VodkaPundit

H/T Instapundit

The Industrial Side Of Things

Bloomberg News has an article up on why it will be difficult to support the nuclear renaissance currently planned. Here is the money quote:

``I find it just amazing that so many people jumped on the bandwagon of this renaissance without ever looking at the industrial side of it,'' Schneider said.

It would take any competitor more than five years to catch up with Japan Steel's technology, said the company's chief executive officer, Masahisa Nagata.
That is what people don't get when they want some kind of rapid industrial change. The supply chain is long and it is demand driven. Steady growth is easy. Sudden surges are difficult if not impossible.

HT linearthinker

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Spitz Swallows Hard, Resigns

After dithering about for a day or so Elliot Spitzer will soon be the former governor of New York.

I think if Hillary had not been running as a Senator from NY with baggage, he might have held on. He got caught in a power squeeze.

And dragging his wife on stage (see picture at link) for the announcement - pathetic. The mind starts to ramble. What would a hooker do that she wouldn't?

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A Wasting Asset

Why do some "ladies" get paid thousands an hour for sex services? Supply and demand.

It is not just about sex. It is also a social occasion. You might actually want to have a conversation with the lady between "jumps".

Now how many upper middle class well educated good looking ladies do you find who are willing to have sex for money? Well, you find more of them if you are willing to pay more money.

Some one who can do a discounted cash flow on a wasting asset is going to be a rarer find than a lady who can barely balance her checkbook.

Prompted by a discussion of the Spitzer case at The Volokh Conspiracy

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Dept. Of Human Relations

Best comment so far on the Spitzer affair comes from a commenter at The Deal Breaker.

You don't pay hookers for sex. You pay them so that they will leave when you are done.
and might I add "keep quiet about it"?

Scare Tactics

Any connection between explosions and matches in gunpowder factories is just a scare tactic by the Reichwing.

Monday, March 10, 2008

The Market For Corruption

An interesting article in The American deals with the economics of graft. The upshot? More audits, less corruption.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Only The Good Die Young

You need to keep your reptile brain in good working oder. Others do and they are not as nice as you.

Doing The Right Thing

One of my readers has been having a conversation with me about what she can do to change the world. Specifically the energy sector. Something overlooked, like growing your own biodiesel or something? She couldn't see much of a future if our industrial system stays static - dependent on limited resources. Energy is the lifeblood of civilization after all. My answer:

Right now there is not much that can be done even if you wanted the "right" products - they are not available at any reasonable price. Take plug in hybrids. Excellent idea. Sound engineering. You can't get it (unobtanium). And even if you could get it, I'd advise you let the rich buy in at first until the technology has gotten a significant field shakedown. That is their proper function in life: to bear the costs of trying new commercial ideas. Expensive hobbies. Electricity for the home in 1890 say. Or Tesla Roadsters today.

Most of the action right now is industrial. Things like using solar to shave the afternoon air conditioning peak electric charges. That means the sales potential is there for demand metered companies - which is basically the commercial sector.

If you were an engineer (or technician or even service provider) I could give you some suggestions. Right now working for a solar cell, or wind, or biodiesel company would be the best thing to do. Or a research lab.If you can't be a scientist or engineer, sweep the floors.

We are on the path. What we must do is let the system evolve as much as possible. We must not choose any one path too soon. Industrial systems are no different than plants. We want them to grow towards the light and bend with the winds. To do that we must give the light and wind time to influence the plant. If we short circuit that too much because of fear or politics we will wind up with less than the best system.

I wish I had a better answer for you.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Who Ya Gonna Call?

Suppose there was trouble in the hood. Suppose you were the head Code Pinker. Who would you call? Who else? You call the Marines.

Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin, who can turn the air blue when shouting chants against American Marines called out for the Marines in front of Marine Recruiting offices in Berkeley yesterday.

Eamon Kelley, the young Marine who is featured in Move America Forward’s TV commercial that ran on Fox News earlier this week, could hardly believe his own ears when Benjamin called on the Marines for help.
How about some details?
“While we were at the protest in Berkeley from 12 to 4 p.m., a white Volvo drove by and a man spat upon CodePink,” Kelley wrote in an email to MAF’s Melanie Morgan. “They chased him down the street and got into a verbal altercation. The police were NOWHERE in sight.

“That’s not the best part, ready for this?

“Medea Benjamin yelled and I quote “Marines!” She actually yelled for our help because this man had stepped out of his car. I even asked her if she was yelling Police and she told me, “I said Marines” then put her arm around my friend Allen (the Marine Vet). Ironic?”
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

It is just that some people never knew this and others forget, while some like Ms. Benjamin don't even want to know despite it being rubbed in their faces.

Semper Fi.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Where Is The Empire?

We hear so much these days from leftys that America has an empire. So I have a question or two. Where is it and how does it work?

Conquered by America:

1. The Philippines
2. Japan
3. South Korea
4. Germany
5. France
6. Belgium
7. Holland
8. Italy
9. Sicily
10. Libya
11. Iraq
12. Afghanistan

Plus a few others. Could some one please explain how we made an empire of all that?

Are we practicing mercantilism on them? Extracting taxes? Forcing them to follow our foreign policy? Stationing troops in their country against their will? What?

How is this empire thingy supposed to work?

Prompted by the discussion at Winds of Change HT Instapundit